Fargo is here: The biggest showdowns to watch at the USA Wrestling Junior Nationals

Friday morning will see the start of the Boys’ Junior Freestyle Competition at the USA Wrestling 16U and Junior National Championships at the Fargodome in North Dakota. The 16U Boys get underway in the afternoon. Not a lot of youngsters proliferate our rankings outside of the lighter weights, so unless otherwise noted, all the forthcoming breakdowns are for the Junior Freestyle Division.

We aren’t going to go too deep, just a look at who sits at the top according to our latest rankings. Between not wanting to write a novel and the unimaginable number of upsets that will occur, going on too deep of a dive would be an exercise in madness.

Melvin Miller Chases Fourth Straight Fargo Title

Pennsylvania’s No. 2 Melvin Miller comes to Fargo to do one thing, win the stop-sign trophy. And it’s never ended in any other way for the Bishop McCort grappler, who won a 16U Title as an 8th grader. Miller moved up to the Junior Division for his freshman year and collected that title and another as a sophomore a year ago.

Miller will likely cap his junior season off with a 165-pound final showdown with No. 4 Rocco Cassioppi of Illinois. Cassioppi handled No. 7 Joe Bachman (Pennsylvania) at Freestyle National Duals. They could meet again in a quarterfinal on the other side of the bracket from Miller. Setting up the winner to potentially see Miller in the 165-pound finals.

Powerhouse 157-Pound Field

This weight class could also give us the only No. 1 vs. No. 2 finals if top-ranked Charlie DeSena of Florida and No. 2 Mac Crosson (Iowa) navigate the land mine that awaits.

DeSena competes for National Power Lake Highland Prep, hitting all the top tournaments and big dogs and has won everything under the sun in the last year except Fargo and the couple of times he ran into Bo Bassett (Pennsylvania) at 150 pounds.

The graduating senior can attest to the pitfalls that are awaiting even the most chiseled vets as he has never reached the Fargo podium. The last few years have been filled with promises but none with the expectation of being the top guy, the one who is hunted.

Crosson is coming down from 165 pounds and has a better win/loss profile than No. 3 Wyatt Medlin of Illinois, who was a runner-up last year. Crosson and Medlin look primed for a semifinal showdown if Medlin can slay No. 19 Lincoln Robideau (Minnesota) in the quarters. Robideau was a 16U runner-up in 2025.

North Carolina’s No. 6 Bently Sly, another wrestler looking to put past Fargo frustrations in the rearview mirror, could have a round of 16 meeting with No. 9 Jake Miller (Oklahoma). The winner of that bout is probably going to tangle with DeSena in the quarterfinals.

Mills Versus Kenny Again?

The 132-pound weight class underwent a recent reconstruction with Georgia’s No. 3 Antonio Mills and New Jersey’s No. 5 Paul Kenny coming up from 126 pounds. The review showed Kenny suffered a one-point loss to Mills at last year’s Fargo, placing third, while Mills went on to win it all.

They met again at FloWrestling’s Who’s No. 1 last fall with Mills gaining another one-point win. Mills is a wrestler who comes up big on the biggest stages.

Ohio’s No. 11 Tommy Wurster was a 16U Fargo Champion in 2025. After him, No. 13 Vincenzo Anello of New Jersey is the next from our ratings to weigh-in at Fargo. Anello was fifth here in 2025, picking up as loss to Kenny.

Another defending 16U Champ resides at this weight, Minnesota’s No. 26 Miklo Hernandez. Hernandez is lined up for a possible quarterfinal with Mills. Anello and Wurster could form the other quarter on that side with the winners of each meeting in the semifinals.

Kenny’s side is less frightful as his prospective semifinal opponent would be No. 18 Nate Rioux of Indiana.

There are two 16U guys ranked at Fargo in the 132-pound rankings, Pennsylvania’s No. 30 CJ Caines and Washington’s Honorable Mention Owen Marshall.

No. 2 vs. No. 3 Showdown Looms

At 126 pounds, No. 2 Sammy Sanchez (California) and No. 3 Hayden Schwab (Iowa) sit on opposite sides of the bracket, leaving the tantalizing possibility of this big-time matchup happening. Sanchez, who is making his first Fargo appearance after winning two U17 World Championships the last two years, was sixth at the U20 U.S. Open this year.

Sanchez beat No. 4 Henry Aslikyan at California states and again the U.S. Open. Aslikyan was listed in the entries but did not step on the scales. Schwab and Aslikyan have split matches with Aslikyan winning their U.S. Open showdown and Schwab taking the U20 World Team Trials bout.

From there, it’s a big drop to the next ranked guy, No. 16 Isaiah Jones of Oklahoma. Others around that range are No. 18 Cody Clarke (Georgia), No. 19 Braiden Lotier (Pennsylvania), and No. 20 Justin Farnsworth (Pennsylvania), who is a two-time Fargo Finalist and former champ. Farnsworth could cause problems with his pedigree.

We’re anxious to see if Clarke can finally build off last year’s breakout fifth place finish in the junior division at 113 pounds. Things were looking great when Clarke came out blazing with a fifth place showing at Super 32, where he beat Lotier, but suffered an injury at his team’s invitational and has been out of action since.

A Tough Path Awaits at 150

The 150-pound weight class presents a tough path, no matter who you are. The two highest rated guys in the bracket, No. 2 Clinton Shepherd of Indiana and Pennsylvania’s No. 4 Jason Dube, will probably meet in a quarterfinal throwdown.

Shepherd was the 144-pound runner-up to Bo Bassett in 2025. Dube, who operates out of Ohio’s Spire Academy was fourth in 16U at 144 pounds a year ago. Shepherd will see No. 6 Donovan Rosauer of Illinois before Dube. The winner of Shepherd and Dube will probably face off with a 16U Champ from last year, No. 15 Peyton Hornsby from Indiana.

On the other part of the slate, No. 10 Robert Duffy of New Jersey and No. 11 Matt O’Neill from Pennsylvania will have an early round rendezvous for the right to later face No. 7 Hunter Stevens of Wisconsin. Duffy defeated O’Neill at Ironman.

Title Favorites Face Tough Roads

The No. 2 man at 175 pounds, California’s Marion Carini, fits the bill of a frustrated Fargo traveler, but is currently favored to finally taste some success but he can’t sleep on Iowa’s No. 5 Maximus Dhabolt, who was third here in 2025.

Carini could see Dhabolt in the quarters as his side of the bracket is loaded with Dhabolt facing No. 8 Maximus Fortier of West Virginia in the round of 16. The winner of the Carini/Dhabolt match will probably get No. 12 Lucas Boe of Florida in the semis.

A danger presents itself in No. 14 Jaxon Miller from Iowa. Miller’s upset prowess has been on display twice in recent times, with wins coming over Dhabolt and No. 1 Joseph Jeter (Oklahoma), but a subsequent loss to Fortier among others, has brought him down the ranks.

Miller’s path should lead him to a bout with No. 11 Bruno Cassioppi (Illinois), ultimately leading the winner to a semifinal with No. 10 Jordan Fincher (Missouri).

DeKraker the King of 138?

In 2025, Florida’s Tyler Dekraker came in third on the Fargo mats. As the entries were sifted through and were informed DeKraker dropped to 138 pounds from 144, we reshuffled things and the senior landed in the second-seeded position at 138 pounds.

The top-seeded guy, Cali’s Moses Mendoza had an impeccable year, while DeKraker had a few hiccups but beat most of the top guys behind him on the full list. Mendoza will not be in action at Fargo.

The next wrestlers from our report set to appear are, No. 7 Nicholas Sorrow (Michigan), who did not place in 2025, No. 8 Dawson Youngblut of Iowa, who also failed to place a year ago, and No. 9 Shamus Regan (Florida). Regan did not place in 2025 but won a pair of 16U Titles prior to that.

Regan was a teammate of DeKraker at Lake Highland Prep, and the two could meet in the semis. Sorrow and Youngblut could land in the other semifinal.

Corbin and Grajeda in a Power Semi

A year ago, Pennsylvania’s No. 6 Dale Corbin took third at 132 pounds. In 2026, he’s now at 144 pounds and is slated to see No. 7 Jesse Grajeda in his semifinal. Grajeda was eighth at this weight last year.

On the flipside, Indiana’s No. 11 Braylon Reynolds could see the toughest guy on his side in the quarters as he and No. 20 Drake Hooiman (Nevada) are on that path.

Cressell Looks to Turn Bronze Into Gold

Iowa’s, by way of Indiana, No. 2 Waylon Cressell sits in the driver's seat to improve upon his third-place finish from a year ago. Cressell took care of No. 8 Eli Leonard (Wisconsin), the highest ranked after himself at 190 pounds, in last year's consolation finals.

Leonard defeated No. 9 Riley Johnson (Nebraska) and No. 10 Mason Ontiveros (California) at the U.S. Open. Johnson beat Ontiveros at the Open. In a neat twist that shows how dangerous Ontiveros is; the Californian was a Fargo silver medalist in 2025, beating Leonard on the way to the finals.

Speaking of danger, beware of No. 16 Everett Joyce of Kansas. At the PNL Freestyle Duals, Joyce surprised No. 6 Lucas Ricketts (Kentucky), who is not registered for Fargo. Does he have another, or more, tricks in his arsenal?

Leonard’s quarterfinal foe, if he can beat No. 21 Nicholas Singer (Pennsylvania), would be Maryland’s No. 23 Victor Marks-Jenkins. The winner will probably toe the line with Ontiveros.

Cressell should get Johnson in his quarter and the winner of Joyce and No. 14 Jaxon Penovich from Illinois in the semis.

World Champ Looking for a Second Fargo Crown

Florida’s No. 4 Michael Mocco won a Fargo Championship as a freshman in the 16U Division. As a sophomore, Mocco skipped Fargo to chase and gain an U17 World Championship. Back at Fargo in 2025, success was not replicated, as Mocco ended in third.

Mocco has not faced his biggest threat, No. 8 Ashton Honnold out of Iowa but will likely do so in the quarterfinals at Fargo. Honnold dropped a loss on No. 9 Tyson Martin (Wisconsin) at the U.S. Open. Martin was a D3 state champion, No. 16 Cael Leisgang won the D2 Wisconsin state gold.

Martin and Leisgang, who fell to Mocco at Super 32, looked poised for a semifinal pairing.

Tight Quarters at 215-Pounds

The top three guys at 215 pounds sit back-to-back-to-back in our latest rankings – No. 5 Maximus Konopka (Connecticut/Colorado), No. 6 William Ward (North Dakota), and No. 7 Ladd Holman (Utah).

Konopka, an Ironman Champ, was second at Fargo as a Freshman but did not return last season. Ward was second at 190 pounds at Super 32 where Holman was eighth.

Konopka and Holman should meet in the semis with Ward having a fairly easy path to the finals with no highly rated guys projected for Ward.

2025 Finals Rematch is Possible for 113-Pound Semis

The big semifinal matchup at this weight would feature the Junior 106-pound finalists from 2025, both from Oklahoma – No. 11 Cason Craft and No. 12 Turner Ross. Ross beat Craft to win the Fargo gold. Craft got him back at Ironman this season.

A matchup to look out for is the possible semifinal convergence of No. 2 Killian Coluccio (New Jersey) and No. 4 Jarreau Walker (Ohio). Filling in from the top ten of our rankings are No. 9 Camden Rugg (Wisconsin) and No. 10 Connor Maddox (Indiana).

Young Stars Ready to Break Through

California’s No. 3 Anthony Garza is rated two spots higher than New Jersey’s No. 5 Michael Batista. The two have not met to our knowledge. Garza is likely to have a quarterfinal encounter with No. 7 Brayden Wenrich of Pennsylvania.

The next biggest inline are No. 15 Laz McEwen (Washington), No. 16 Thiago Silva (California), and No. 17 Tee Mills from the Peach State. McEwen and Mills could line up for another quarter with the winner facing whoever comes out ahead in the Garza/Wenrich bout.

On Batista’s side he could see Silva in a quarterfinal.

16U National Duals rematch possible at 106-Pounds

The match that broke Minnesota’s No. 6 Joey Cady onto the scene came at the 16U National Duals over No. 7 Amir Newman-Winfrey (Iowa), who enjoyed a blow-up of his won with a silver medal run at the U.S. Open. At the Open, Newman-Winfrey beat No. 8 Knox Ayala (Iowa).

Two incoming freshmen comprise the next ranked wrestlers at Fargo’s 16U 106-pound class – California’s No. 21 Sebastian Gutierrez, plus No. 13 Pietro Velardi (New Jersey).

The 106-pound rankings are heavily divided with some of the 16U guys at 94 and 100 pounds. The top two Junior 106-pounders are No. 2 Luke Loren (California) and No. 6 Cache Williams of Oklahoma, who just cut down from 113 pounds.

Returning Champ, No. 17 Leo Murillo (Pennsylvania) will be at 100 pounds where he will look to upset highly regarded incoming freshman, No. 10 Nelson Villafane (Pennsylvania) in a potential semifinal pairing. Iowa’s No. 20 Cyrus Millage sits on the opposite side of the bracket from those two.

The top 94-pounder is Iowan, No. 19 Johnathan Thompson, who is the only wrestler ranked by us in his field. Murillo defeated Thompson in the 2025 88-pound finals. Thompson handled Millage in earlier rounds.

California’s Michael Bernabe is ranked sixth at 113 pounds and the dropoff at 16U is steep before we get to No. 17 Brody Compau (Michigan) and Iowa’s No. 18 Diego Robertty. This is one of the weights hit hardest by breaking off into two divisions (16U and Junior).

New Jersey’s No. 22 Shiloh Joyce is next in the fold. Beast of the East Champ, No. 29 Evan Cies (Pennsylvania), is the last of the top 30 in the16U 113-pound bracket.

How to Follow the Action

Brackets can be found at USA Bracketing .

Fargo Nationals 2026 Schedule

Friday, July 10

9:00 a.m. ET - Session I: Junior Boys Freestyle | Championship (3 rounds) & Consolation (1 round)
5:00 p.m. ET - Session II: 16U Boys Freestyle | Championship (3 rounds) & Consolation (1 round)

Saturday, July 11

9:00 a.m. ET - Session III: Junior Boys Freestyle | Championship (2 rounds) & Consolation (5 rounds)
4:00 p.m. ET - Session IV: 16U Boys Freestyle | Championship (2 rounds) & Consolation (5 rounds)

Sunday, July 12

1:00 a.m. ET - Session V: 16U Boys Freestyle & Junior Boys Freestyle | Quarterfinals, Semifinals & Consolation (through Consolation Semifinals)
4:00 p.m. ET - Session VI: 16U Boys Freestyle & Junior Boys Freestyle | Placement Matches (3rd, 5th, 7th)
6:00 p.m. ET - 16U Boys Freestyle & Junior Boys Freestyle | Parade of All-Americans & Championship Finals

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